PMID- 17987880
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20071218
LR  - 20151119
IS  - 1466-2094 (Print)
IS  - 1466-2094 (Linking)
VI  - 9
IP  - 4
DP  - 2007 Oct
TI  - A comparison of diagnostic screening data derived from general dental 
      practitioners and periodontists used for initial treatment planning in 
      periodontitis patients.
PG  - 106-11
AB  - As the quality of clinical information contained in referral letters for 
      specialist care may determine the initial decisions as to appropriate treatment 
      for patients, it is important that this information is objective and accurate. 
      The use of a standardised questionnaire for this purpose improves the quality of 
      information received, but it is not known how accurate this information is if 
      used in the decision-making process for treatment planning. The aim of this study 
      was to compare the clinical assessment data derived from a standardised 
      questionnaire used by referring patients to a specialist periodontal unit. 
      Equivalent data recorded by dentists and periodontists were compared to establish 
      whether the data were consistently reproducible, and therefore usable for 
      deciding on the appropriate initial phase of treatment for patients. Data from 50 
      patients referred for periodontal treatment planning and specialist care in which 
      the questionnaires from the general dental practitioner and the subsequent 
      periodontal assessment were available were compared. All of the patients were 
      medically healthy and were not taking any long-term medication. The patients were 
      selected based on the retrospective availability of equivalent clinical data from 
      the questionnaires and consultation in the periodontal department at the Eastman 
      Dental Hospital, London. The equivalence or disparity in the identification of 
      different cofactors, and the community periodontal index of treatment need 
      (CPITN) (basic periodontal examination, BPE) scores recorded by referring 
      dentists (GDP), and periodontists (EDH, Eastman Dental Hospital) were annotated 
      and compared. A level of equivalence of over 50% of assessments was demonstrated 
      between referring dentists and periodontists in the variables of oral hygiene, 
      smoking, bleeding on probing and restorative factors, as well as in the recorded 
      scores of the CPITN (BPE) screening system. It can be concluded that the use of 
      questionnaires for referral for specialist services is useful to not only improve 
      and standardise the quality and extent of the relevant clinical information 
      received, but may also be a valuable resource that may be used in the initial 
      decision-making process for screening patients to the appropriate level of 
      periodontal care. However, the limitations of this observational study preclude 
      drawing any definitive conclusions in the absence of a more carefully controlled 
      study designed specifically to overcome these limitations.
FAU - Galgut, Peter N
AU  - Galgut PN
AD  - Periodontal Department and Electron Microscopy Unit, Eastman Dental Institute, 
      London. png@periodontal.co.uk
FAU - Calabrese, Nicolino
AU  - Calabrese N
LA  - eng
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - J Int Acad Periodontol
JT  - Journal of the International Academy of Periodontology
JID - 100888553
MH  - Decision Making
MH  - Dental Restoration, Permanent
MH  - Furcation Defects/diagnosis
MH  - *General Practice, Dental
MH  - Gingival Hemorrhage/diagnosis
MH  - Humans
MH  - Mass Screening/*methods
MH  - Oral Hygiene
MH  - *Patient Care Planning
MH  - Periodontal Index
MH  - Periodontal Pocket/diagnosis
MH  - *Periodontics
MH  - Periodontitis/*diagnosis
MH  - *Referral and Consultation
MH  - Reproducibility of Results
MH  - Retrospective Studies
MH  - Smoking
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
MH  - Tooth Mobility/diagnosis
EDAT- 2007/11/09 09:00
MHDA- 2007/12/19 09:00
CRDT- 2007/11/09 09:00
PHST- 2007/11/09 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2007/12/19 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2007/11/09 09:00 [entrez]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Int Acad Periodontol. 2007 Oct;9(4):106-11.